Category: RKBA

[California) SENATE PASSES BILL TO EFFECTIVELY BAN NEW PISTOL SALES IN CALIFORNIA

A measure that greatly expands the mandate for firearms technology that isn’t on the market won easy approval in the California state Senate last week.

California Sen. Catherine Blakespear’s SB 452 passed on a 29-10 vote on May 24 and goes to the state Assembly for further consideration. The Encinitas Democrat argues that the bill “simply puts to use readily available technology to help law enforcement catch criminals” by banning all sales or transfers of any semiautomatic pistol after July 2027 unless it has been verified as having a microstamping-enabled action.

Despite Blakespear’s assertions that microstamping, a process that etches unique identifiers on expended cartridge cases, is available, no such guns are in production.

Anywhere.

In 2013, Kamala Harris, then the California attorney general, put the state’s long-dormant microstamping requirement into effect, requiring new pistols certified for commercial sale be able to mark expended brass with a microscopic array of characters, which identify the make, model, and serial number of the pistol upon firing.

Since then, the state’s roster of approved handguns has shrunk, with only legacy semi-autos – which were grandfathered – and revolvers currently listed. For example, the roster contains no approved Generation 4 or Generation 5 Glock handguns, all of which debuted after 2013. Likewise, the SIG P365, one of the most popular carry pistols in the country, cannot be found on the list.

Larry Keane, general counsel for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, one of the groups currently challenging the 2013 law, told Guns.com previously that the state is experiencing a “slow motion handgun ban as fewer and fewer models are allowed to be sold in the state. California is to handguns what Cuba is to cars; only old models are available.”

Blakespear’s legislation, backed by anti-gun groups such as Brady and Everytown, would effectively close off access to even these legacy guns by creating a separate and distinct restriction on the sale or transfer of any semi-automatic handgun by a licensed dealer unless it is capable of microstamping.

However, the state has seen its current law in troubled waters, with a case brought against it drawing heat from a federal court earlier this year. That court, in the case of Boland v Bonta, saw the California DOJ hit with a preliminary injunction as the case proceeds.

“The microstamping provision requires handguns to have a particular feature that is simply not commercially available or even feasible to implement on a mass scale,” U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney’s order reads.

Meanwhile, SB 482, which is co-sponsored by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, is now in the Assembly, where Dems hold an overwhelming 3/4 (62-18) majority.

From an acquaintance. Keep sharp people……

Daughter went hiking yesterday, found dead bodies.
She and one of her friends went to McAfee Knob yesterday to go hiking. Hiking club. They are all mountain goats. Can hike straight up the side of a mountain without getting very tired at all.
Get to the parking lot, and what’s that? Some other cars there too.

Hmmm. They go over to take a looksee, and there are two dead bodies. One is an older dude, and the other is a middle-teens looking kid. A couple of the other hikers call the police.

And now my daughter finally knows why I always insist that she goes with someone else, and packs. She’s strapped, and the young man she likes to go with is jacked, strapped, and very tactically alert and wary. She said to me, “Dad, now I understand.”

Seems that several of the other folks were very nervous, but knowing that she and her friend had their own heat was very reassuring to her.

You never know what you’re going to see.

62-year-old man, juvenile found dead after apparent murder-suicide in McAfee Knob trail parking lot
Authorities say there is no danger to the public
Roanoke County Police are investigating what they say appears to be a murder-suicide in the parking lot of McAfee Knob Friday. Police said they responded to a call at approximately 6 a.m. Friday to the McAfee Knob trailhead parking lot on Catawba Road.

Arriving officers located two deceased males with gunshot wounds, one of them believed to be self-inflicted, according to police.

According to authorities, one of the deceased males is identified as Lewis Lambert Jr., 62, of Roanoke. We’re told the other male is a juvenile.

Police have not verified whether or not the two deceased males were related.

On Friday morning, crews responded to two house fires in Roanoke. We’re told a person of interest in these incidents was identified as one of the two found Friday morning at the McAfee Knob trailhead parking lot in Roanoke County.

Guest opinion: Todd Buchanan: Do we really need assault weapons for self-defense?

We just passed the first anniversary of the massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. One month following that horrific event, in the case of New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, the Supreme Court set a new, restrictive standard for Second Amendment cases.

No longer will it suffice to demonstrate that a gun regulation is narrowly tailored to address a compelling governmental interest. Instead, it must be shown to be consistent with the national tradition of gun regulation.

This was an innovation, though Justice Thomas, in the majority opinion, asserted that the 2008 case of District of Columbia v. Heller had established the precedent by expressly rejecting “means-end scrutiny” in Second Amendment cases. Justice Alito had first made that claim in his plurality opinion in McDonald v. Chicago in 2010.

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The Founders were well aware of continuing advances in arms technology
Building on what had come before, the Madison-Monroe research program led the way to the many innovations of the 19th century

During the 19th century, firearms improved more than in any other century. As of 1800, most firearms were single-shot muzzleloading blackpowder flintlocks. By end of the century, semiautomatic pistols using detachable magazines with modern gunpowder and metallic cartridges were available. Would the Founders be surprised by the improvements in ability to exercise Second Amendment rights? Perhaps not, given the tremendous advances in firearms that had taken place before 1791. And certainly not, given that James Madison, author of the Second Amendment, initiated a federal government industrial with the specific aim of vastly improving the quality and quantity of firearms manufacture.

Part I of this post briefly describes Some of the firearms advances before 1791. Part II describes the federal industrial policy for advancing firearms technology.

This post is based on my article The History of Bans on Types of Arms Before 1900. It is forthcoming in Notre Dame’s Journal of Legislation, vol. 50, no. 2, in 2024. The Post also draws on chapter 23 of my coauthored textbook Firearms Law and the Second Amendment: Regulations, Rights, and Policy (Aspen Pub., 3d ed. 2022).

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Big win for homesick sailor forced to surrender guns

If someone feels a little down because they miss their family, is that alarming? So alarming that people should be forced to give up their guns?

That was the question at the heart of the matter in a case involving a Navy sailor stationed in Hawaii who was denied a gun permit and required to turn in his firearms because he acknowledged seeing professional help to deal with that depression.

Some would argue that missing one’s family is a good sign, a sign that they have people who love them and whose love is reciprocated.

Hawaii didn’t really get that.

The state stomped on the rights of Michael Santucci and Santucci responded with a lawsuit.

On Thursday, he scored a big win.

Santucci did everything right and by the book. He sought to register his firearms with the state as required and acknowledged getting help for his depression.

As a result, he was told to hand in his guns and forfeit one of the rights he serves in our military to protect for the rest of us.

It was idiotic.

Luckily, the judge agreed.

The court agreed with Mr. Santucci that he was not disqualified from registering his firearms based on Section 134-7. It determined that Mr. Santucci’s affirmative response to Question 11 of the Firearm Application Questionnaire, which inquired about behavioral, emotional, or mental disorders, did not render him ineligible for firearm registration or ownership under the statute. The court concluded that Mr. Santucci should not have been required to provide a doctor’s letter or compelled to surrender his firearms solely based on his affirmative response to Question 11.

Honolulu argued that it was obligated by law to request a doctor’s letter in accordance with Section 134-3, which mandates firearm registration using forms prescribed by the Attorney General. However, the court found no basis for requiring a doctor’s letter after an affirmative response to Question 11, as neither the statute nor the prescribed form supported such a requirement.

The court granted the preliminary injunction, ordering the return of Mr. Santucci’s firearms, and enjoined Honolulu from demanding specific certifications solely based on an affirmative response to Question 11. It also stipulated legal fees to be paid in the matter, with Honolulu paying $102,500 and the State paying $28,000 more.

So, in other words, it wasn’t just a win for Santucci, but also for gun owners in general.

Look, while I disagree with it entirely, I get the desire to keep guns out of the hands of people suffering from mental disorders. Some people are dangerous, either to themselves or others, and many figure that’s a good enough reason to curtail the rights of others.

Yet most people who seek counseling aren’t a threat to anyone, including themselves. They’re just feeling down and don’t want to anymore, or they’re processing a rough childhood or some other kind of trauma so they can live a better, more fulfilling life.

For authorities to swoop in and decide such people cannot be trusted with guns is wrong.

Moreover, it’s likely to prevent people from seeking help in the first place.

The truth is that if Santucci was dangerous, he’d have just lied on the form. If he was planning to kill himself, he wouldn’t worry about a perjury charge. If he were planning something far, far worse than that, I’m pretty sure perjury would have been the least of his concerns.

Instead, Santucci just wanted to obey the law, and he got screwed for it.

Now, things are being set to right.

New Jersey Politicians Enact Largest Gun Ban in U.S. History

When Governor Murphy and the New Jersey Democrats rushed a flurry of gun laws through the legislature last June of 2022, one of the laws rammed through was under the guise of banning guns with no serial numbers.

This law banned millions of rifles, shotguns, handguns, hunting guns, target shooting guns, military surplus guns, and virtually ALL muzzleloaders, black powder guns, antique guns, air guns and BB guns.

N.J.S. 2C:39-3 N screenshot 5-25-2023

There are NO exceptions and there is NO grandfathering. This was the largest gun ban ever passed in the history of the United States.

The law bans ALL firearms with a “…firearm frame or firearm receiver …which is not imprinted with a serial number registered with a federally licensed manufacturer…”

The term “firearm frame or firearm receiver” means the part of a firearm that provides housing for the internal components.

For ANY firearm to be legal in New Jersey, it must now meet two criteria established by this law:

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This is why the media will never understand gun owners

Most people who read stuff here are either gun owners or know someone who owns a gun. At the very least, they’re sympathetic to having one.

Not counting the hate readers, of course.

The media, however, is full of people who don’t own guns, don’t know anyone they know has them, and perhaps more importantly, don’t want to know anyone who is a firearm owner.

And yet, they routinely write crap like this:

The story of a Pennsylvania church blessing AR-15s made the rounds on traditional and social media last week. The ceremony at the World Peace and Unification Sanctuary ministry in rural Newfoundland, PA, was widely ridiculed as bizarre and out of touch, but once you take away some of the theatrics, how different are these worshippers really from millions of Americans and the NRA?

The answer, it turns out, is not that much.

WhoWhatWhy went to Newfoundland twice last week, attended the gun-blessing ceremony and saw some things that the rest of the media seems to have missed.

Now, the church in question is the Unification Church, whose members are often called “Moonies” after the founder, Rev. Hyung Jin (Sean) Moon.

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Judge right on history of gun owners’ rights

After the Supreme Court ruled nearly a year ago that making it unduly burdensome to acquire a permit to carry a firearm violates the Second Amendment rights of Americans, New Jersey and New York tried a new approach.

The two states attempted to disqualify Americans with permits from carrying a gun at a broad assortment of places — so broad that, as Reason magazine notes, “effectively prohibits the carrying of that handgun virtually everywhere.”

Fortunately, a federal judge struck down the attempt at circumventing the rights to self-defense and to bear arms in mid-May.

One of the hallmarks for the right to bear arms the Supreme Court set forth was historical analogues — testing new policies against the history of our nation and whether similar limitations have ever existed. As Judge Renee Bumb noted, New Jersey failed to avail themselves of the opportunity to offer historical evidence. She was left to comb through the state’s history herself, and what she found was numerous examples of permissiveness toward carrying guns in many of the most similar conditions to which New Jersey attempted to limit the right to carry.

No one should be surprised by what this judge found. Modern sentiments aside, the rights of law-abiding gun owners and the necessity of guns as tools of deterrence and self-defense are ingrained in our nation’s history — and illustrate that guns are not the problem, nor gun control the solution.

ARMED & FEMALE II

Never an Easy Target

Millions of American women are buying guns for self-protection. If you are one of them, or plan to be, Paxton Quiqley urges you to arm yourself with information and train with experts so that you can safely defend yourself and your loved ones against any potential violence. Reading this book is the perfect place to start.

“Highly recommended reading, especially beginners, for those considering firearms training. Paxton addresses the essential factors related to choosing firearms as an option for protecting yourself and those you love.” -Mark Vinci, Director, Model Mugging Self Defense for Women

“Paxton Quigley-an expert on women, on home intrusion, and rape.” –Oprah Winfrey

“Paxton Quigley, a modern-day Annie Oakley who teaches women how to shoot in the name of empowerment.” -Caitlin Kelly, Blown Away, American Women and Guns

“If you’re a woman in the market for a gun to protect yourself, reading this book is a vital first step.” -David Patrick Columbia, newyorksocialdiary.com

“In the women’s gun movement, Paxton Quigley is the great persuader.” –60 Minutes

“15 million women are gun owners, and they’re finding a guru named Paxton Quigley. Her message is being heard.” –NBC Nightly News

My Armed & Female book series has been called “the bible of gun self-defense for women,” and although the first book has been available for many years, I realized that with all of the changes in laws and the new attitudes about guns, it was time to update the book. Numerous people asked me to revise it without losing its spirit and intent since it has helped many women make the decision to arm themselves safely and confidently.

Owning a firearm for self-defense is your right as an American, but with that right comes extreme responsibility and accountability. Gun ownership is not a Red State vs. Blue State issue. In a country with 120 guns for every 100 people, plenty of liberals are pro-gun, and many conservatives support some type of gun regulations. Even in a state like California, which has some of the strictest gun laws in the country, as well as a strong anti-gun political climate, many residents are buying and learning how to use firearms. All over America, women of all ages, religions, nationalities, and races have come to the realization that to protect themselves and their families against escalating violence – many feel that they cannot trust their local law enforcement – they need to own a firearm.

Many of these women report that they’ve left or are trying to leave violent relationships. Others just want to have some control over their own personal safety in a rapidly changing world. Many purchased handguns without knowing how to use them. It is for all the women who want to learn about the pros and cons of gun ownership, and about how to protect themselves safely and effectively with a firearm that I decided to write my newest book, Armed & Female II: Never An Easy Target.

Like Vermont has a problem.

Vermonters, lawmakers await decisions on contentious gun reform bills

MONTPELIER, Vt. — One year after the tragic school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, Vermont lawmakers looked back on firearm-related bills passed in the 2023 session that they believe will make Vermont a safer state.

One of those will implement a mandatory 72-hour waiting period from the time you purchase a gun to when it enters your possession.

“When somebody has the impulse to buy a gun and use it for a sinister purpose like maybe a school shooting or something like that, or if they intend on harming themselves, those 72 hours can be so vital,” Rep. Conor Caser, Executive Director of GunSense Vermont, said.

Some believe the bill violates the Second Amendment and is unconstitutional. Gov. Phil Scott has not said he will veto the bill but has expressed strong concerns in recent weeks.

“I don’t doubt that if this goes into law that there will be a constitutional challenge,” said Scott.

However, the governor is expected to sign off on a bill that strengthens penalties on straw purchases and the defacing of serial numbers on firearms, which lawmakers believe will reduce crime in and out of state.

“They go in and buy them [guns] and then trade them for drugs, and the folks who can’t possess obviously have the firearm. And we’ve seen them used in crimes in other states,” Sen. Richard Sears said.

It remains clear that lawmakers will not agree on the policies of all the bills, but both sides of the aisle say the fact that three firearm reform bills made it to the governor’s desk this session is something they have never seen before.

“Passing three is a first, I must say, but the dynamics have changed also in the last 15-20 years. The makeup of the body, the numbers in the body, you’ll see on most of those bills they are predominately supported by Democrats,” Rep. Patrick Brennan, a Republican, said.

Sears believes public tragedies such as what happened in Uvalde also played a role.

“I think Vermonters’ views of firearms have changed dramatically due to the mass shootings we’ve seen in other states such as Uvalde a year ago,” Sears said.

Most bills passed by the Senate and House within the last two weeks of the session, including the two firearm bills, have still not officially made it to the governor’s desk as the legislative council finishes the process of looking them over.

Once they do, Scott will have five days to make a decision on whether to sign them or not.

Well, it’s really not all that hidden. It’s ‘Rules for thee, but not for me!‘

The Hidden Truth About Gun Control

I’ve debated gun-control lawyers. They said guns aren’t the answer for personal safety. I’ve come to a single conclusion when I look at the people who want us disarmed. Their actions speak so loud that I can barely hear their words. Some of the strongest and most consistent practitioners of armed defense are the people who espouse gun-control for the rest of us. That is the hidden truth in the gun-control debate.

We could talk about California Senator Diane Feinstein who had a concealed carry permit and told the rest of us to turn in our guns. We could talk about the celebrities who show up to a gun-control march in a limousine and are escorted down the street by their security detail. I’d rather talk about the Godfather of Gun-Control. Let’s look at billionaire and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Billionaire Bloomberg is the gun-control movement in the United States. He funds the anti-gun think tanks. He funds the AstroTurf organizations. During an election year, he funds the gun-control campaigns and political lobbying to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

You’d think that Bloomberg was against armed defense if you only listened to him. He sends another message if you watch what he does.

Mayor Bloomberg has an armed security detail with him all the time. He has armed security at his homes and as he moves to his private jets. He and his family have armed security where ever they go. Watch what he does, and even anti-gun politician Michael Bloomberg clearly thinks that guns save lives.

The Bloomberg family is surrounded by armed defenders every minute of their lives, but he wants our children left unprotected.

Bloomberg’s spokesmen say he only wants to save lives. After all, there are thousands of injuries and deaths from criminals using guns every year. Bloomberg doesn’t tell us about the thousands of times we use a firearm in armed defense every day. He is silent on the millions of times we use a firearm to defend ourselves every year.

“Millions” are much larger than “thousands.” Believe me when I say that billionaire Bloomberg can do the math. He believes that guns save lives for him.. but not for us.

While I still have a voice, I say I disagree. We don’t have a security detail of retired police officers. We are the thousands of honest citizens who will defend ourselves today. We are the one-out-of-a-dozen adults who are carrying concealed in public. Honest citizens like us are the defenders of our family, our friends, and our neighbors.

Just like Michael Bloomberg, they deserve protection too.

Poll: Majority of Adults Support ‘Stand Your Ground’ Laws, Sour on Need to Protect Gun Rights

A significant majority of the general public support robust legal protections for their public self-defense rights.

That’s according to a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll released Wednesday. Nearly six-in-ten U.S. adults said they support laws so-called stand-your-ground laws that “allow people who are in a public place and believe that their life or safety is in danger to kill or injure the person who they think is threatening them,”—up three percent since it last polled the question. More than 80 percent of Republicans and 57 percent of Independents said they agreed with the laws, while only 40 percent of Democrats said the same.

At the same time, the poll identified a broader trend of the public turning against the need to defend gun rights in favor of reducing gun violence. It found 60 percent of Americans now think controlling gun violence is more important, while just 38 percent say the opposite. That’s a significant change from 2013, the year the poll first began asking this question, when the public was evenly split between defending gun rights and curbing violence.

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Live, Practice, and Compete from Concealment

There are over twenty million issued carry permits now in the United States, and bear in mind that this is in a nation that now has over half of the states honoring Constitutional Carry, thus requiring no permit at all to carry concealed. This is a good thing. On any given day, there are millions of American citizens carrying guns, and the majority of these guns are being carried concealed.

Despite these epic numbers, the amount of people who actually practice with their defensive firearm on a regular basis is depressingly small. Among even this small minority, the amount of people who practice from concealment, the way that most actually carry the gun, is even smaller. I have frequented many public ranges, and I rarely see anyone drawing from a holster, in general, even at ranges that allow it. And, while the unusual individual will be drawing from a holster, it is almost always an openly-worn holster rather than from concealment.

It is amazing that, while so many people have a carry permit, so few actually train with the gun from concealment. I realize that firearms are almost similar to automobiles in some regard; while most American adults drive a car, there are very few professional racecar drivers. At least with cars, most people actually drive, even if not at a high level. With firearms, it is far worse as even though a huge percentage of Americans not only own but carry a gun, few practice much with it, and far fewer practice realistically from concealment.

The ability to draw the gun from your concealed holster safely, efficiently, predictably, and quickly is the single most pressing skill directly related to using the gun itself in a defensive capacity, yet it is the skill least practiced by most concealed carriers. Those who take self-defense with a firearm seriously should devote considerable time to the craft of deploying the gun from a concealed holster, and there are a number of ways to maximize this proficiency within the limits of time that life imposes.

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GUN CONTROL GOV. MAKES ALL-CALL FOR GUN CONTROL, FAILS ON THE BASICS

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham knows exactly where to go to get fawning media coverage and an agreeable viewing audience for her all-call gun control platform.

Gov. Lujan Grisham joined MSNBC’s Morning Joe just days following the murders of three innocent Americans by a mentally troubled 18-year old. She knew there would be no serious pushback or correcting by the host of her false statements about firearms and lies about the firearm industry.

Then again, that was most likely her goal. And, sadly, its standard operating procedure for much of what passes these days for “mainstream media” and journalism.

Facts and Details

Gov. Lujan Grisham’s support for gun control restrictions is already well-known. It’s why she was in consideration to be President Joe Biden’s running mate back in 2019. One of the pillar planks of the Governor’s platform is to ban the possession, sale and transfer of Modern Sporting Rifles (MSRs) in New Mexico. There are currently more than 24.4 million in circulation since 1990. That means they are more commonly-owned than there are Ford F-150 pickup trucks. I’d venture you couldn’t drive five minutes in New Mexico without seeing an F-150 on the road.

New Mexico’s governor started with the “weapons of war” false allegations to demonize all lawful ownership because of the crazed acts of a lone, mentally disturbed individual.

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Armed Defense- They were Surprised, but they Responded and Saved Lives

Almost no one expects to be attacked. Yes, these honest gun owners were surprised, but they responded and saved lives.

These ordinary citizens faced a lethal threat. Again this week, these honest gun owners saved their lives and the lives of others.

The longer discussion of what we might want to do is on the Self Defense Gun Stories webpage. For now, here are the stories and the links to the original news sources. How will you protect the people you love?

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Veto-proof majority in Louisiana House approves constitutional carry

So far this year we’ve seen two states adopt permitless or constitutional carry, not only with the support of lawmakers but with the backing of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen. If Louisiana is going to follow suit and become the 28th state to recognize the right to bear arms without a government-issued permission slip, however, legislators are going to have to overcome an anticipated veto by Democrat Gov. John Bel Edwards, who previously killed a similar measure back in 2021.

We’re one step closer to that becoming reality today after the Louisiana House voted 70-29 on Tuesday in favor of HB 131, just enough to override Edwards’ veto… at least if no one changes their vote.

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Dër GrëtchënFührër® is at it again.

Michigan governor signs red flag gun law, questions linger over enforcement

ROYAL OAK, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer gave final approval Monday afternoon to a red flag law that aims to keep firearms away from those at risk of harming themselves or others as the state grapples with ways to slow gun violence in the wake of its second mass school shooting.

Michigan joined Minnesota as the second state in under a week to implement a red flag law after Democrats in both states won control of both chambers and the governor’s office in November. New Mexico previously was the last state to pass a red flag law in 2020.

Whitmer signed the legislation just outside of Detroit, flanked by state lawmakers and individuals affected by gun violence. Former Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who began campaigning for gun safety after she was shot in the head in 2011, was also in attendance.

“We have heard too many times from those who knew a mass shooter who had expressed concern in advance about that mass shooter’s intentions,” Whitmer said Monday. “With extreme risk protection orders, we have a mechanism to step in and save lives.”

The new law, also known as extreme risk protection orders, is expected to go into effect next spring. It will allow family members, police, mental health professionals, roommates and former dating partners to petition a judge to remove firearms from those they believe pose an imminent threat to themselves or others.

The judge would have 24 hours to decide on a protection order after a request is filed. If granted, the judge would then have 14 days to set a hearing during which the flagged person would have to prove they do not pose a significant risk. A standard order would last one year.

Michigan became the 21st state to implement a red flag law. Questions remain of whether the state will have better success in enforcing it than others have. An Associated Press analysis in September found that in the 19 states with red flag laws, firearms were removed from people 15,049 times since 2020, fewer than 10 per 100,000 adult residents.

Some local sheriffs in Michigan have told The Associated Press that they won’t enforce the law if they don’t believe it’s constitutional. Over half of the state’s counties have passed resolutions declaring themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries, opposing laws they believe infringe on gun rights.

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